I'm With You
by Roaming Tigress
Summary: When Gabrielle finds out the truth about a secret admirer, Carlos makes a vow to protect her. Gabrielle has thought that she has found a good friend with Carlos, but could they be more than that once again?
1. Footsteps in The Rain

**I'm With You**  
by Roaming Tigress

_I'm standing on the bridge_  
_I'm waiting in the dark_  
_I thought that you'd be here by now_  
_There's nothing but the rain_  
_No footsteps on the ground_  
_I'm listening but there's no sound_

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_  
_Won't somebody come take me home?_

_It's a damn cold night_  
_Trying to figure out this life_  
_Won't you take me by the hand_  
_Take me somewhere new_  
_I don't know who you are_  
_But I . . . I'm with you_  
_I'm with you  
_  
-Avril Lavigne

Carlos sat on the porch of his temporary residence, blankly staring out into space, tuned out to the sound of high heels clicking as Gabrielle came up the steps as the rain steadily came down. He figured it was all just part of the daydream he was having, even as he felt her arm slip around behind his shoulder.

It couldn't possibly be Gabrielle. She had that charming Bill Pearce, why on earth would she be here for? Carlos had to admit he was envious of the man, insanely envious. He's Carlos after all; he wouldn't be if he hadn't felt the fire of passionate jealousy rise up from deep within whenever he had seen him jog alongside her, bringing her the same happiness that he himself had once given her. It didn't need to be said that the love he has always had for her had certainly not died with the finalization of the divorce.

"Carlos?" She asked with concern, lightly rubbing him on his shoulder.

Nothing had seemed real. It hadn't for a while, truth be told. Ever since the judge declared that he and Gabrielle were no longer a married couple, Carlos had felt like he had lost an arm. He had gone on his dates; being a man as handsome as he is, it wasn't difficult. Yet, every night, it was the same. This woman, that woman, wasn't for him. More than that, though, there was always a missing element, a distinct void. Whenever questioned about how he was handling being a single man, he would brush it off and say that all was well, when nothing could be further from the truth. He slowly derailed from his train of thought to wrap his blue-striped shirt around her as the rain came down harder. She was soaked right to the skin in her Dolce and Gabbanna. "Gabby, what are you doing out in this weather?"

"I-I'll tell you inside . . . " Her eyes were wide fear as she looked up at him, an emotion she seldom lets anyone see.

Without another question, Carlos took her by her hand, and lead her inside.


	2. Nuances

**I'm With You**  
by Roaming Tigress

He hadn't seen Gabrielle like this in a long time, not since she opened up about being molested by her step father. Someone must have hurt her. Carlos wanted to know who that someone was, so that he could track the monster down, and throw them into a wood chipper a thousand times over.

Softly he placed a hand on her shoulder as she came out of the bathroom wearing a oversized men's shirt and boxer shorts, and gently kissed her on her cheek. It wasn't the most flattering get-up for sure, but in Carlos' eyes, she was as beautiful as if she had worn something that ran up in the thousands and imported from Italy.

"I don't care how dangerous he is, I will kill for you."

Gabrielle forced a smile as she wrapped her arms around her torso, turning her head away so that he couldn't see the pain in her eyes. She genuinely admired how protective he was being of her, but it hurt to think of what her admirer might do if he had found out that Carlos still has feelings for her.

It was a disturbed young man who had taken interest in her, and she had the gut feeling he would do anything possible to make sure that she remained his.

"I just want you to know, he hasn't touched me."

Carlos held her closer against his powerful form. Her quickly beating heart did not go unnoticed to him, and he felt his own racing when he thought of the worse, that he really did hurt her. "Who is it, Gabrielle?"

"If I tell you . . . You can't tell the police."

To hell with the police, Carlos thought. The entire SWAT team would need be brought in for what he would like to do this secret admirer of Gabrielle's, and the the longer she remained quiet, the more his concern grew. Gabrielle earned her nickname of Gabby for a reason, and it certainly wasn't because she's withdrawn. 

"Carlos . . . It's . . . " 

The first name that sprang to his mind was Alejandro, the man, or rather the monster, responsible for giving Gabrielle scars that would never heal The name that she spoke in a frightened whisper, though, took him completely offguard. 

"It's Zach Young."

In stunned silence, Carlos gently held Gabrielle's hand as she slowly sat at the edge of the bed. It was a shock for her to even say his name in the context that she did. She had been wary of him since word got out about his obsession with Julie Mayer, and the burning of Susan's house combined with the assault on Felicity Tillman with a hockey stick certainly hadn't helped. Surely, this must all be n a nightmare.

"Did he hurt you?" He spoke in a cautious tone and stroked her damp, askew hair from her face, ultimately afraid to hear the answer. 

Gabrielle's heart skipped a beat, for she knew she couldn't lie. The news of what he tried to do to her would come out eventually. It always has, always will. If not from her mouth, then a stranger's; a fill-in hairdresser, a waitress at the country club.

"As frightened as I am, Carlos . . . " She paused for a moment, struggling with the words that she was going to say as she heard his own fear betray him in the form of a pounding hard. "I'm not as scared as you are, of me getting hurt.."

Ironically, for a divorced couple, Gabrielle and Carlos probably have known each other better than any of the married couples on Wisteria Lane. Carlos had always known which flowers to bring home to her. For the flu, blue irises. For happiness, sunflowers. For just because, white orchids. Likewise, no matter how tough Carlos tried to be, Gabrielle always knew how to find the soft spots -- and how to get those soft spots, even softer. A kiss to the back of the neck would bring a smile to his face when he was grumpy, a light tickle to his bristly chin would make that smile even wider. From there, if she was lucky, he would sneak in kisses to her fingers and down her arm, and up her neck. 

"You read me like a book, don't you?" In spite of the situation, he managed to sneak in a smile. 

She kissed him softly on the cheek, and slipped her hand up underneath his shirt. Gabrielle wanted to bring his mind in a happier place, not have his blood pressure soar. "Yes, I can . . . And just so you know, he hasn't hurt me, Carlos."

"What did he try to do?" He asked, almost breathlessly as he took a gentle hold of her hands before he let his mind go anywhere other than what was going on between her and Zach Young. "He did something to you."

Gabrielle sighed, and looked away, disappointed that he caught onto her. All she wanted was to take his mind off of something which she knew would cause his blood pressure to soar. As much as it touched her, it was almost frustrating how he knew her every nuance, how he knew when she was trying to change the subject, or try to make off with a lie. He was really smarter than she had ever given him credit for.

"He tried to get closer to me than I would have preferred when I reminded him that our relationship would be strictly platonic, and . . . " She wrinkled her nose in disgust, and vigorously wiped her lips when she was reminded of the near face-vaccuming.

"Tried to French kiss me, at least I think that's what he was trying to do."

Instead of exploding in rage as she had expected he would -- he simply scoffed and she playfully swatted him in response. All this time, Gabrielle had him worried that he had done something unspeakably horrible to her. "Well, that does it! I won't have you have a man who doesn't know how to kiss a woman!"

"So . . . What are you going to do?" Feeling the weight of the world drop off her shoulders, Gabrielle couldn't help but to laugh. 

"I'm going to kick his ass!" Carlos exclaimed, puffing his chest out like some peacock bent on getting some peahen action. "I'll go right down there tonight, take him by that mop and make him come crying to his jail house daddy!"

A shiver of excitement ran through Gabrielle's tiny body. Carlos who's jealousy went through the roof at even the thought of another man was seeing her instead of merely daydreaming about being with her again, has returned. Only this time, she was certain that he would not be accidentally beating up another innocent gay cable guy or gardener. His target was more dangerous this time around, and those who have faced his wrath either personally or had a friend who had been held at gunpoint -- know that it was only a matter of time until he would become unhinged once more. The thrill of him risking his own life -- all for her -- was enough to be a turn on for Gabrielle. "Well, honey, I'm not going to sit here and stop you . . . " As she got up to retrieve her purse from the bathroom, she traced a fingernail across his broad shoulder, the muscle hardened from the upcoming confrontation. 


	3. The Confrontation

**Her**  
by Roaming Tigress

Now it was time for his performance, Carlos' anxiety had heightened all the more. What if he didn't please her well enough? It didn't take much to satisfy Gabrielle's desires, but this was Bee Van De Kamp he was dealing with. 

"Well, aren't you going to get on top of me?" She asked, indignant. 

His eyes followed her up and down as she elegantly stripped off her mink fur coat, revealing a sinewy form in a silken red underwear and bra ensemble. Carlos admitted that she far more gorgeous than he had imagined behind her to be underneath her classy wardrobe, yet he knew he shouldn't give into the temptation that laid before him. He tried so desperately to hang on, but he was slipping. Carlos shut his eyes tight, and turned his head away. "I . . . I don't know about this . . . "

Her jaw dropped open in shock. Why the cold feet now?

"I-I just need a moment in the confession box . . . " Carlos replied, rather timidly.

"Er, I mean . .. The bathroom. When I get nervous, I -- " 

Bree got up off of him but seized him by his pajama bottoms just as he got within a arm's distance away, and before he got the chance to finish his fib of a sentence. "Carlos, you promised me sex. It will be sex that I will be getting."

He grinned nervously, acting as if he wanted her to become all the more angry yet still wanting to get on her good side. "I think I hear Gabrielle coming home. If she found out you were in bed with me, oh boy, she won't be happy. I know this nun, she got real beaten up by her when she thought I was sleeping with her."

"Whatever you say will not make me believe you," Bree insisted with calm fury as she slowly reeled him in. "Gabrielle booked a flight to New York and she won't be back until Monday. Until then, it just you, and me." 

It was a Friday. One more score against the unwilling adulterer. 

"Well, I think Lily needs to be fed, and Xiao -- " Both were also brought along with Gabrielle's shopping expedition in the Big Apple. 

Before Carlos could react, Bree pulled him down onto the bed and rolled him into a position that forced him to be straddled over her. What was left of his clothing was vivaciously torn off -- and rather uncharacteristically -- thrown on the ground in a heap. Tidiness was the last thing that was on the raging redhead's mind.   
_  
_ A shiver ran down Bree's spine as she felt his mouth meet up with her fine neck, and the subsequent bite that followed. It was a light, almost tickling sensation, but she definitely felt teeth. The second nibble was a little rougher, sending another chill down and throughout her body. On the third, an eye tooth punctured the skin just above her collarbone, causing a small river of crimson to streak down her perfect, porceline-esque skin. Bree wanted to hear nothing of the apology that came from the Carlos. She wanted more of it, much more. 

As he moved down her chest, his whiskered chin brushed up against a perked nipple. More blood was drawn as she clamped her hand around his biceps and dug her nails in as hard as she could. "Just . . . Rip it off."

Once released, Carlos reached around and unstrapped the bra without a hint of hesitation and set the flames of passion ablaze.

At once, their bodies become one in a entwining tangle of desire, fearful admiration and love that was never meant to have happened. For the both of them, especially Carlos, it was the point of no return. He had let go of the cliff he was hanging onto with one hand and had fully surrendered to the forbidden temptation of loving thy neighbour. Likewise, enemy had become lover for Bree, and deep, dark thoughts were creeping into her complicated mind. She had to make him her's and her's only, and the only way would involve hurting him more for it -- but it would be worth it for her. She wanted no other man but Carlos Solis, her prisoner, her _inamorato. _

Not a moment too soon after Bree's climax cry, Carlos rolled aside with a groan. He had been pushed to the very limit and he grasped his chest, fearing a heart attack. It was pounding so fast that he was sure it was going to stop.

"You . . . You cannot ask me to go another round. If . . . If I didn't satisfy you with what I gave you, just get the knife and slit my throat."

"Carlos . . . What you gave me was the best sex I've had in all the eighteen years of my marriage," Bree replied, eyeing him with genuine concern as she was reminded of a time not too long ago. "Are you going to be all right?"

He nodded after catching his breath and patted her on the knee reassuringly, but yet, seemed distracted. "Yeah, I'll be all right. I've just overdid it a little, I suppose."

"What is it?"

Carlos turned his back on her, causing her to to draw to one unusual conclusion. Additionally, she couldn't help but to notice a certain dampness on the bedsheets. "You're not . . . A crying ejaculator, are you?" 

"No . . . "

As Bree leaned over to kiss him on the injured shoulder, she found she was correct on one thing. Carlos was indeed crying, and her maternal instinct had kicked back in at full force. She wanted to nurture this tortured soul, to hold him in her arms, to tell him that everything will be okay. It was only a moment ago that she envisioned killing the true love of his life, and now she felt horrible for it. Bree would love to have him all for herself, but how could she hurt him more now? He's a fragile man, she discovered, despite his looks and sometimes machoistic tendencies. She heard of his putting a photographer through a window in honour of his wife, and imagined his whole world and maybe his own life being put through one if Gabrielle was ever taken away. 

"It's just that . . . I've said before, that if I were ever to have sex with you, I'd cry," Carlos explained, comforted as she stroked his wavy hair. "Here I am, though, just sobbing. I could've been someone, but . .. But I'm not. I mess up everything I do or try to do. I can't be a good father, I can't be a good husband. I'm just . . . "

Bree held him against her as she sat up. "A child trapped inside a man's body? Now, you have your faults, but you are everything for your girls. You were the one who sent Hector to Gabrielle's place when she had the miscarriage, you were the one who -- " "Changed her birth control pills and forced her to sign a postnup because I couldn't bear to see something not go my way . . . " He sighed deeply. 

She was shocked to hear such things come from Carlos, but still, Bree wanted to be with him. He was lost, and needed to be found. "We all do something we regret . . . "

"Nothing like I've ever done . . ." He hung his head low in shame. "I beat up two gay guys who I thought were cheating on my wife, I put so much attention to my work that I neglected my wife, I was arrested for slave labour, allowed myself to be almost talked into annulling my marriage . . . Mama might even be still alive if I didn't send her over here to check if my wife was cheating on me, as I suspected. I could've done the investigation work myself, but I ran and hid behind her."

Bree grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look into her eyes. She hated to see him put himself down so much -- knowing what it has done to herself -- and wanted to beat him in that game as well as straighten him out.

"I watched a man die and didn't do anything about it, and I helped my husband to his early grave by doing the bed instead of immediately alerting 911. I told my son he was going to go to Hell for being gay. The point is, Carlos, you can't dwell on everything. You need to focus on the now, not the then." There was no denying what she said was true. Sometimes, all that was needed was a little push to get him into the right direction, even if it came from the woman he feared so greatly. With just the faintest hint of a smile, Carlos brushed aside her flawless hair and kissed her on the cheek so lightly that she thought it was just a breeze passing by.

"What was that for?"

His smile widened, and his hand overlapped her's. "Just because."


	4. More Than Friends?

**I'm With You**  
by Roaming Tigress

"You have no idea what much of an affect that just had on me."

Gabrielle smirked, and smoothly moved her hand down from his chest, and to his crotch. There, a telling, growing bulge confirmed the affect that she was giving Carlos. "Ooooh . . . I think I know, big boy." Carlos let out a deep moan, and snuck out a laugh. "Even before you checked, little miss ESP?"

"I had a feeling . . ." She gently pushed him onto his back, and undid his belt in a painfully slow, teasing manner. "There was no small print in the divorce papers that mentioned anything about me us being able to still read each other like a book."

Despite Carlos' arousal, what she had caused his heart to sink a little. If anything, this divorce had lead them to know more about each other, than in the five years they were married. Each had seen how they were like with different people, and both were reminded that the two of them were made for one another. Carlos had seen the forced joy that Gabrielle had while picnicking with Bill, and likewise, Gabrielle was able to detect the sadness that was still in Carlos' eyes as he hung out with "the boys" and laughed at their jokes. 

_Aw, to hell with it all! _Gabrielle's puling his jeans down didn't let his mind wander into the land of reminiscing about the "good old days" for long. 

"Don Juan missed you."

Likewise, Gabrielle could say the same about "her girls" missing out some the attention that he had given them. In the beginning of her marriage, he was so much of a horn dog that he would still want some even after a hernia operation -- and she loved it. She cast Carlos a playful, sultry glance, and made him squirm as she lightly bit down. 

"R-Really missed you!" He shuddered. 

Down the flight of stairs, Zach was slowly gaining conscience. He could hear what was going on; all that damn moaning, that ungodly shrieking! He might well been waking up next to the zoo's cheetah enclosure during mating season. To make matters worse, with his broken ribs, there wasn't a damn thing he could about it He couldn't even alert the help; the jacket where his cellphone was had been pulled off in the foray. 

"I think you should keep better control over Don Juan," Gabrielle teased as she took a hold of Zach's jacket sleeve and wiped off Carlos' ejaculation that had splashed on her face. "Think of those poor house cleaners who will have to clean up your mess."

Carlos smiled wryly, kissing her on the side of her neck as he turned her over. "I will keep that in mind."

"Mmmm . . . " Gabrielle moaned softly, feeling the softness of his lips against her skin and the gentle scraping of his teeth. "I think you should, I mean . . . Just think about it. What would Bree Hodge do?"

Carlos murmured a chuckle, and bit down a little harder. He knew just now much Gabrielle liked it when he talked dirty. "She would probably make me go down on my knees and clean up every little drop."

"As she should!" Gabrielle moved her foot over to his crotch, teasing him, being as far from subtle as she could about her feelings. "After all, there's a time and place for your little swimmers. What good do they do all over her kitchen floor?" 

He laughed, and lightly ran a finger down her inner thigh. Likewise, Carlos always got a kick out of her talking dirty; Gabrielle's spiciness wasn't just all in her cooking. "Why is it that you always manage manage to say the best things?"

"Or the wrong things?" Gabrielle winked, moving her leg in such a way that caused his hand to slip down further, something which he took absolute no complaint to. "You have no idea how much I've missed this, Sex Tiger." "I think I do," Carlos spoke softly, and kissed her on her lips. "Can't beat Carlos sex. I mean, I don't think even John sex can beat Carlos sex."

Gabrielle's smile couldn't possibly widen anymore than it did. He was dead on; not even John Rowland could compare to what Carlos could deliver. Even through the times when she has been frustrated with him, she had to admit, John never didn't have the touch Carlos has, that certain aggression, that drive, the heart. 

"God, I missed this so much. You, the sex, the way you drove me crazy . . ." Gabrielle sighed as she brought her finger up to her cheek and lightly tickled a dimple. "The dimples, even. I can still remember how I couldn't stay angry at you long for as long as you're smiling at me. I wouldn't let it be known to you, of course, but I've always thought it was adorable how you tried to butter me up with that grin." 

He grinned that movie star grin, the on that she has always adored. "Like this?" 

"Yes." 

Gabrielle didn't notice the tears trickling down her cheek, or if she did, simply didn't want to notice it. She closed her eyes as Carlos softly wiped them away with his thumb, and sighed as he kissed her on her lips. 

_I want this back. I want this back, but . . . _

Like Carlos, the other girls had picked up on Gabrielle's forced happiness as she went off on her dates. Hell, even poor dumb old Tom took notice. Fake smiles could only look so real for so long. After all, Gabrielle was an runway model, not an actress. She had found such a good friend in Carlos that she was afraid to complicate things by making it more serious than that, and that the drama would return. She feared that at any moment she would suddenly remember her bitterness about his unfortunate garage rendezvous with Xiao Mei, not the moments of him offering her his support when she needed it, whether she thought she needed it or not. 

"You give the word if or when you want to make this develop into anything more serious," Carlos spoke quietly, understandingly, and with certain regret. "The last I want is for you to feel pressured because of me. I've . . . Done enough with that."

When he looked away, Gabrielle cupped his jaw in her hand, guiding him to look into her eyes. He had a feeling of what she might say, and he braced himself for the bittersweetness. He would keep loving her even if she didn't want to take him back, but his heart would always be yearning for something more. 

"Or, taking me back because . . . Or out of pity."

She didn't say a word as she prepared to finalize her ultimate decision.


End file.
